It was business as usual for team Kolij.
Yesterday proved just another day at the office for local swimming’s most decorated school, as reigning double-crowned champs Harrison College won both the girls’ and boys’ titles yet again following the completion of the Secondary Inter-School Championships at the Aquatic Centre.
The occasion marked the third time in succession that they did the double, with the Crumpton Street kids amassing more than 300 points in each category to beat Queen’s College and St Michael by almost 200 in the respective girls’ and boys’ championship.
Led by Danielle Titus and an overall team effort in the 12-and-under division, Kolij coasted to their 13th girls’ crown after racking up 318 points – 196 better than rivals Queen’s College (122), who beat The St Michael School (105) for second place.
But the boys have truly set the standard for Harrison College as they piled up 308 points to secure a fifth straight title and their 21st overall in 26 years.
This time The St Michael School (166) got the better of QC (163) for the runners-up position while Codrington School (78) finished in fourth to match their performance in the girls’ category.
“This feels great as usual and you really must commend the kids who are based at various clubs, so it makes the planning that much easier,” said Harrison College physical education teacher Ryan Leacock.
“But I’ve discussed with the organisers the possibility of having two teams entered because at this point we have a lot of swimmers and I hate that we have a whole host of swimmers at school unable to swim.
“And the team is a very young team so I expect many of them to return next year, so hopefully they will consider allowing us to have a B team,” he added.
There wasn’t anything B-grade about Nkosi Dunwoody, though, not in the 12-and-under boys’ division at least, with the Kolij champ romping to victory in the 50 free (29.20 seconds), 100 free (1:01.56), 50 fly (31.49), 50 back (32.13), 50 breast (34.95) and 100 IM (1:08.69) for a meet best 54 points.
He even teamed up with McCallum Clarke, Eric Lashley and Matthew Mayers to ensure victory in the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays as well.
However, Titus was similarly prolific by winning the same 50 free (28.75), 100 free (1:02.22), 100 IM (1:10.66), 50 back (32.10), 50 breast (36.83) to go along with a record-breaking performance in the 50 fly (31.24).
She too hooked up with Destiny Harding, Britney McCollin and Zoe Taylor for relay wins in both the 200 metre medley and 200 free relays.
There were other top individual efforts, though, most notably that of Deighton Griffith’s Alex Sobers, who also won the 15-17 boys’ 100 free (53.63), 100 IM (1:04.77), 50 fly (28.98), 50 back (32.40) and 50 free (25.30) to add to a second-place showing in the 50 breast.
After missing out on another girls crown, at least Queen’s College celebrated Alexis Clarke’s performance, which included a record-breaking effort in the 15-17 girls’ 50 free (28.27) and other wins in the 100 free (1:00.60) and 50 fly (31.16).
She wasn’t alone in the record-setting feats as Combermere’s Damon St Prix also broke the mark in the 13-14 boys’ 50 back (28.71) while winning the 100 free (54.55), 50 fly (27.93) and 50 free (24.79).
Providence’s Mckalya Treasure came up big in the 13-14 girls’ division after taking the 100 free (1:00.79), 100 IM (1:10.86), 50 fly (32.18), 50 back (32.61) and the 50 free (28.23).
Kimberley Willoughby of Combermere accounted for the other individual record after clocking 1:09.80 in the girls’ 15-17 100 metres Individual Medley to break Simone Kirton’s 16-year-old mark.
